Busting Brackets
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AAC Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2019-2020 season

By Brian Rauf

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 25: Penny Hardaway, head coach of the Memphis Tigers, watches the action during the game against the Charleston Cougars at HP Field House on November 25, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 25: Penny Hardaway, head coach of the Memphis Tigers, watches the action during the game against the Charleston Cougars at HP Field House on November 25, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 22: Jarron Cumberland #34 of the Cincinnati Bearcats reacts during the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 22: Jarron Cumberland #34 of the Cincinnati Bearcats reacts during the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

3) Cincinnati Bearcats

This would be a major drop for the Bearcats but I think could happen for a number of reasons.

First off, they have a new head coach. For all the (rightful) criticism directed at Mick Cronin for his inability to win in the NCAA Tournament, the Bearcats were always at least a borderline top 25 team with him at the helm.

New head man John Brannen is a good coach and will have Cincinnati playing at a very high level sooner rather than later, but it’s going to take more than a year for him to institute the changes he wants to make. His teams at Northern Kentucky were predicated around their perimeter shooting, which is an area Cincinnati has traditionally struggled in.

That’s the other reason why I’m projecting a small drop for the Bearcats – they don’t have the top-end talent to keep up with the other teams that are improving in the conference. Justin Jenifer and Cane Broome, two of their best scoring threats, aren’t returning, and there’s a chance they could be offensively inept if they lose Jarron Cumberland, too.

If Cumberland returns, which I think he will, the Bearcats will still finish in the top four. If he doesn’t, they could drop all the way down to No. 7. His NBA Draft decision is as big a decision as any in the American.